Loaves and Fishes and All of Us ~Greg j

Excerpts from dialogue between Greg Johnson of the Surge Community Church and Laura Hill of Annandale Bible Church, via Facebook Messenger, May 6, 2020. Links were subsequently added.

From GJ:
Hello. I'm Greg Johnson, a leader with the Surge Community Church that meets—when allowed!—at the State Theater in Falls Church. "E" Eric Reiss directed me here for possibly making contributions to a relief fund organized by Gustavo Pacheco of Annandale Bible Church. I'd like more information on this relief fund, notably how to safely contribute. ...

From LH:
Praise the Lord, good morning Greg! Yes, Pastor Gustavo set up a Venmo for contributions to our community. If you're in Falls Church, then you are surely aware of some of the needs that our church encounters. But God is faithful!! Look how he directed you, out of the blue, to us! 💞🙏. Would you like me to send you the Venmo QR code? Would you like to connect to Pastor Gustavo? What needs does the Surge have right now?

From GJ:
Please forgive me for caution, but I've not met anyone from ABC--nice handle!--so I've some questions:
1. I think I can use VenMo. But if we want to send an old-fashioned paper check, to whom should it be written (Annandale Bible Church? Iglesia Biblica Annandale? ...) and to what mailing address?
2. How are needy people or providers identified and prioritized? (Galatians 6:10, Matthew 25:35,...)
3. How are needs met? (money gifts, grocery cards, food or other tangible gifts, rents paid to landlords, ...)
We have at least $1200 in an initial gift. We meet in Falls Church and thus want to give to the Falls Church area. But currently our small congregation is mostly from out of town....

From LH:
I can answer some of your questions. We have a small adult congregation and a relatively large student/children's congregation. Thus far we have given bags of food and necessities, set aside first for our families and the rest distributed via the parking lot at Braddock Elementary and dropped off in the Fairmont Gardens apartments (where most of our kids live). We work closely with the Parent Liaison at Braddock and we also have a close pulse on the students and the Parent Liaison at Woodburn ES. (we were recently were able to purchase a small laptop for a student at Woodburn who missed the school distribution). The parents and families have reached out to us, the children's church teachers, directly to ask for more food and provision. They have only a Safeway within walking distance of the apartments, and I've yet to see any available toilet paper there! So we'll check the church first and if there is no available funding, then we just go shopping ourselves to provide for their needs. God is so very faithful, and He has indeed supplied all our needs according to His glorious riches in Christ Jesus.

From GJ:
Thanks! That's the kind of info I wanted. "God is good all the time. All the time, God is good."  ...

From LH:
... But if the Lord can use me, He can use anyone. Ps 40:2 "He also brought me up out of a horrible pit, Out of the miry clay, And set my feet upon a rock, And established my steps."